Saṁyutta Nikāya — Discursos Conectados — 17.36 — Five Hundred Carts

1Near Rājagaha, in the Bamboo Grove, the squirrels’ feeding ground.

2Now at that time Prince Ajātasattu was going with five hundred carts at daybreak and dusk to attend on Devadatta, presenting him with an offering of five hundred servings of food.

3Then several mendicants went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him, “Sir, Prince Ajātasattu is going with five hundred carts at daybreak and dusk to attend on Devadatta, presenting him with an offering of five hundred servings of food.”

4“Mendicants, don’t envy Devadatta’s possessions, honor, and popularity. As long as Prince Ajātasattu goes with five hundred carts at daybreak and dusk to attend on Devadatta, presenting him with an offering of five hundred servings of food, Devadatta can expect decline, not growth, in skillful qualities.

5If they were to lance a boil on a wild dog’s nose, it would get even wilder. In the same way, as long as Prince Ajātasattu goes with five hundred carts at daybreak and dusk to attend on Devadatta, presenting him with an offering of five hundred servings of food, Devadatta can expect decline, not growth, in skillful qualities.

6So grim are possessions, honor, and popularity. …”